


This atmosphere led McDonald’s into Black communities across the country. The law did not result in immediate change in the South. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination throughout the land. The I-have-a-dream speech by Martin Luther King was a highlight of the movement. Freedom riders and sit-ins at lunch counters were parts of a growing movement. It laid the groundwork for monumental change in society. Supreme Court decisions like Brown v Board of Education rocked the nation. McDonalds of the 60s had walkups not drive thrusīlack ferment in 50s and 60s ushered in a new era in America. McDonald’s set the business standard for chains like KFC, Taco Bell, and Dunkin’ Donuts. My high-school band stopped there for burgers as it returned from away football games. In my youth Burger Chef served better food but with a less successful business plan. The success of McDonald’s resulted from its mastery of the franchising system. Major corporations were able to assign liability to franchisees and even local governments. Coca-Cola adapted the concept to bottling plants located in towns across the nation. Its roots trace back to the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. What is a franchise? Franchising is an American innovation. It was a complex relationship between the company and the community.

Was this relationship exploitive or did it bring economic opportunity to Black neighborhoods? In Franchise, Marcia Chatelain argues Yes to both parts of this question. McDonald’s saw economic potential by inserting its presence into Black communities. There never was any doubt who was in the dominant position, though. White and Black persons developed strong interpersonal relationships. Police exercised strong control over the Black population. We encountered white and colored restrooms and white and colored drinking fountains. My family moved from Canada to the South that year. This scene represents the world I knew in 1960s. A violent, Marxist political party serves free breakfasts to Black school children.Race relations are fine on the surface, but tensions loom below, and.Blacks are not allowed to eat at white restaurants or stay at white motels,.No one considers fast food to be unhealthy,.Fast-food restaurants provide the population with hot, inexpensive meals,.
